Support for the feet



, E. FRE I SUPPORT FOR THE FEET March 22, 1932.

Filed April 16, 1928 1 UNITED;STATES Patented -Mar. 22; 1 932 ELISABETH FRELI OIli ZURICH; SWITZERLAND surronrr ron THE rem, f

, Application filedAiprillG, 1928, Serial No.

v This invention relates to that class of sup-, ports .for the foot adapted to be inserted in the 'form' of a sole and designed for compensating ,orrectifying irregularities or deformities of thefeet. i A device constructed according, to the in vention comprises two soles which are only connected together at certain places, lan upper and a lower sole of any desired material,which'are so connected together that perspiration, metal, vulcanized fibre or like artificial material to give the foot a fiIHl' and elastic hold. Thesecondsole may on the,

other hand he of relatively soft leather. hloreover between thesoles special pockets may be provided for the reception of interchangeable shaped or} former pieces, for instance those intended for supporting the metatarsal bones of thearch of the foot and the heel. 7

Anumber of constructional embodiments of devices constructed according to the in- Y ventionare shown inthe accompanying drawings in which .Fig. 1'is'a' plan V I Fig. 2 is aside elevation; 7 V Figq3'isfa transverse-section on the line v A-B, Fig. 1;

F igQ tis a top plan of a second constructional embodiment of the improved foot supvport;"; c 7 Figs. '5 and 6 are examples of former pieces intended for correcting the foot.

Referringto Figs. -1 to 3, 1 is an .upper' sole, which is inclined upwards at 3, in order.

This npsnugly to fit the arch of the foot.

per sole is connected to .alower sole'Q by means of rivets 4a, 4b, 40,;spac'edapart in such a ,Way that thewhole peripheral edgebetween the soles land 2 is freely accessible and so that fixed or interchangable former "pieces jot leather, rubber, fibre, artificial material,

270,558, and internall August 22,1927;

metal or the like can beins'erteda These;

.former pieces may extend over approximatelythe Whole'lengthand breadth of the sole or'only over a portion thereof, butare .held'fast in any position *by' means ofth'e rivets and also by the clamping, action'be-1 tween the soles.

The soles '1 and Zare constituted tromadifi.

terent materials. 'Advantageously, thelower sole 2 is formed from rigid material as for? instance-from vulcanized fibre, from harjd ened raw leather, from so called transparent 'o'xhide' and the like, and the upper sole is made from softer leather. 'The' soles' mayg also be impregnated to preventthe injurious action of perspiration or to lessen its effect.

For heavy people the lower sole maybe M provided with a metal stiffener. Y

In the drawings, at Figs. 1, 3,5 and "6, various former. pieces areillustrated. The former piece 5 "has a fork shaped cut away portionand'isheld'tast atthe rivjet 40. It:

. extends nearly over the whole surface of? the'sole. 6 is an intermediate former piece for supporting the arch of the foot and at the side are shown by way'ot example for mer pieces 7 and'9 which are designed to prevent the downwardslipping of the foot, and which again are attached by correspond-3 ing fork shaped slots to the rear rivet. Again on the opposite side of the sole. a longitudi 7 nally extending former piece maybe provided, denoted by 8, which-engages" the for ward'rivettbby means of afork shaped slot The former pieces overlap one another,-so

that a continuous supportfor the soleofthe foot is obtained and one, in which-the shape of thesupport ;correspon-ds"exactly to the shapeotthetoot. 1 i

, Pockets. are provided betweenthesoles 1' and2, which serve, for the reception of for- 'mer pieces; Thepockets for the reception of the metatarsal inserted elements 15 are open at both sides. In. addition a middle opening 16 is provided, so that the inserted elements can be easily brought, to the right A position; The pocketsfor thereception of the inserted pieces for supporting the middle joints of a foot 'are advantageously made to I extend right through; moreover they are di- 'vided by means of an intermediate wall 14, so that a plurality of inserted pieces 12, 13 can be placed one above the other each in its own pocket. 'l- As will be seen from Fig. 4 the soles 1 and 2 instead of being connected together by rivets may be connected in various positions l1); means of stitching, as at 10a, 10b and 100. ere again inserted or former pieces are 10 provided, which are denoted in the drawings by 12 and 13, as regards the supporting means for the middle arch portion of the foot. 11 indicates a former body, which engages by means of a fork shaped slot around N the stitching 100 and extends along the inner ed e of the sole.

oreover at the outer side of the upper and lower soles 1 and 2, which are connected together by means of the stitching 10a, 10b, 80 10c, side flaps 17 and 17 may be provided, which prevent the slipping down of the foot from the sole with certainty.

The raw leather, transparent oxhide or the like may be hardened by chemical processes and impregnated so that their hardness is not lost through the action of perspiration and water.

In all the constructional forms of the device, the lower sole should be made somewhat 8 shorter than the upper one.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America An arch support comprising an upper sole 85 and a lower sole, means by which said soles are attached to each other at different spaced points only so that said soles have a free peripheral edge between the points of attachment, said soles corresponding in length, breadth and contour with the sole of the foot, and pads adapted to be inserted between said soles from the free edge thereof for supporting the longitudinal arch, for supporting the heel and for supporting the metatarsals, and another pad also inserted between said soles and extending approximately over the entire length thereof, said ads being adapted to be secured in position y engagement with the said spaced connect- 50 ing means, the last named pad bridging the gaps between the metatarsal pads and the arch pads.

In witness whereof I affix my signature. I ELISABETH FREI. 

